Graham Arnold is an oft-quoted believer that the premiership should be held in higher esteem than the grand final.
But the scenes of jubilation on the Mariners bench come fulltime this afternoon show that this win means a great deal to a team that has experienced grand final heartbreak three times in eight seasons.
For the Wanderers, it is a shame to end such a great debut season with a loss, but they know they gave their all for 90 minutes, and the fans can go home contented with their season.
They can now look forward to matching it with the best of Asia, with an Asian Champions League group stage berth thanks to their premiership success.
As we have come to expect in recent grand finals, there was plenty of controversy. WSW had two solid penalty shouts turned down, with another half chance.
A penalty to the Mariners for handball added insult to injury, as the Wanderers had a similar shout turned down for their team earlier on.
Credit to the Mariners: when you’re playing well the little things seem to go your way, and that was the story of the game.
The Wanderers never gave up, and they were dangerous on the attack until the final whistle. Always pressing, and dominating large periods of play, Western Sydney lacked the last killer ball to create the goal.
Often this was no fault of the Wanderers, but the brilliance of Central Coast. At their best, the Mariners are the most precise, structured team in the league, and today they were at their best.
The Wanderers couldn’t build up an attack, which resulted in wasted balls into the box. The suspension of Wanderers livewire Youssouf Hersi didn’t help, with the Dutchman sorely missed on the wing.
The game mostly played out in the midfield, with neither keeper being called on too often. Both goals came from Wanderers mistakes.
Dino Kresinger lost track of his man Patrik Zwaanswijk on a corner, and the Mariners stalwart promptly popped up to score, sending the Mariners fans into raptures.
Daniel McBreen made no mistake from the penalty spot, and it was 2-0 Mariners. Graham Arnold refused to watch the penalty, and players and fans alike knew the perils of a two-nil lead.
But thanks to a determined and focused second half, Central Coast finally shook off the ‘chokers’ tag and claimed their first championship.
It may not have been the best performance by the Wanderers, but still one to be proud of. The 2012/13 grand final was a fittingly enthralling performance to bring down the curtain on what is probably the best A-League season to date.
Perhaps the Wanderers will learn from this loss and come back to win the title next year. Perhaps they will suffer second-year blues and crash to the bottom.
Whatever the case, there are ten sets of fans eagerly awaiting the end of a long off-season, when all teams will once again have the chance to compete for top billing in Australia. Bring on season nine of the A-League!
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